Facebook is certainly no stranger to controversy. With millions of members from all over the world, it would be hard to avoid it. Setting aside Facebook’s own privacy and Terms of Service controversies, we’re taking a look at some of the controversy created by its members.

Facebook fan pages have been created for just about everything you could imagine, and so it’s no surprise that quite a few of those pages have been at the root of worldwide controversy, while some other potentially controversial pages have quietly slipped under the radar.

Everybody Draw Mohammed Day

One of the controversial pages to get the most attention by far, and led to Facebook being banned temporarily in Pakistan was the Everybody Draw Mohammed Day page. The Muslim world expressed its outrage, and dozens of pages and groups popped up demanding that the controversial be taken down, and even one page calling for the boycott of Facebook itself, and led to the temporary banning of the social network site in Pakistan, before the original page was removed.

RIP Raoul Moat

Before it was taken down by its creator, the Facebook fan page RIP Raoul Moat You Legend, attracted 38,000 fans showing their appreciation for the killer who had taken his own life earlier this year after killing his ex-girlfriend, her boyfriend and seriously wounding a police officer. The original creator took her page down, but other smaller clones still exist, with far less fans on Facebook.

Dear Facebook

Barack Obama has probably been one of the most targeted personalities on Facebook’s pages. The page that caused the most controversy was one which attracted over one million members, praying for the American president’s death. The page subtly stated that since Patrick Swayze, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett had all died, they were hoping that the same would befall Barack Obama. Other pages that have targeted the President have compared him to Adolf Hitler.

If 10,000,000 People Join

Religion seems to be the easiest way to create controversy on Facebook. A page with over 1,000 fans is far from its goal of 10,000,000 members. What happens once they reach their goal? According to them, “the Jews have to say sorry for killing Jesus.”

Evesham Township Police (NJ)

The Evesham Township Police Department put itself on the map when it started the controversial practice of putting mug shots of the people they arrest on their Facebook fan page. They do have a little disclaimer on their page saying that all people on the page are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but the practice calls into question privacy rights on the internet. The Police Department is far from apologetic, and believes that the page is their way of keeping up with technology.

Everybody Draw Holocaust

In response to the Everybody Draw Mohammed Day page, a few clones of sorts popped up, under the name of Everybody Draw Holocaust Day. Holocaust, and its denial has been another hot topic causing controversy on Facebook. For some time, the social network site stubbornly refused to delete these groups at all, citing freedom of speech as its reason, until it was proven that holocaust denial is in fact illegal in several countries. Despite that, there are some pages that still exist denying the horrors of World War II, although they haven’t succeeded in attracting very many fans.

Pope Benedict

As always, religion manages to make an appearance wherever there is controversy on Facebook. The Catholic Pope Benedict has been no exception. Pages calling for his arrest, as well as those that aim to make fun of the religious leader, by stating that a condom can get more fans than the Pope are in full force on Facebook, and clearly aren’t going anywhere.

Everybody Burn

If you do a search for the two words, “Everybody Burn” on Facebook – you’ll be surprised at what you’ll come up with. Most of the pages are protesting the now deleted page calling for an International Burn the Koran Day. In fact, collectively they probably have more fans than the culprit page ever did. That said, there are still a couple of Everybody Burn the Bible, and Everybody Burn Israel’s Flag that still exist. They don’t have many fans but they can still be found on the social network.

The Linesman

For some, football is as serious as religion or politics, especially where the World Cup is involved. A Facebook page which attracted almost 5,000 fans is comparing the linesman who disallowed one of England’s goals in a pivotal match against Germany, to Hitler. The comparison alone is reason enough for its inclusion on this list.

We Support James Jones

One of the latest controversies that has led to the creation of a Facebook page involves a parent who got onto his daughter’s school bus to yell at kids who were bullying her. The Facebook page, We Support James Jones has attracted over 4,000 members, but not all of them have messages of support, but rather are criticising the father who is now facing charges for his actions.

What do you think of the controversy that can be found in Facebook’s pages? Let us know in the comments.

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Aibek

October 28, 2010 at 11:07 am

hey guys,

Calm down. We don't endorse those page. Our intention is to let you actually know what kind of pages are put there. if you don't like them go ahead to the page and report it. With enough reports made FB will likely ban/remove the page.

Calm down. We don't endorse those page. Our intention is to let you actually know what kind of pages are put there. if you don't like them go ahead to the page and report it. With enough reports made FB will likely ban/remove the page.

I second Angie, Scott and others. This article is not what makes MakeUseOf a good website. This article is pure 2nd class journalism. Focus on what you do best: Providing resources that improve our lives and internet experience.

I've been reading MakeUseOf for a good few years and it's one of my favourite blogs. However, this article is utter shite. I'd imagine even the Daily Star would think twice about publishing this type of content.

The majority - if not all - of those pages imply quite clearly that their sole purpose is to cause upset, rather than to provoke debate around a controversial issue. Whilst I wouldn't necessarily support Facebook deleting such content, listing them as the 'most controversial' Facebook fan pages is sensationalist and provides those with the most unpalatable views the kind of glorification they are seeking.

I've been reading MakeUseOf for a good few years and it's one of my favourite blogs. However, this article is utter shite. I'd imagine even the Daily Star would think twice about publishing this type of content.

The majority - if not all - of those pages imply quite clearly that their sole purpose is to cause upset, rather than to provoke debate around a controversial issue. Whilst I wouldn't necessarily support Facebook deleting such content, listing them as the 'most controversial' Facebook fan pages is sensationalist and provides those with the most unpalatable views the kind of glorification they are seeking.

Why facebook dont delete controversial pages? There is a report button on each page and they have deleted a few of mine. Why not these?Some say that facebook is very quick in deleting pages that are in favor of Hitler.

Why facebook dont delete controversial pages? There is a report button on each page and they have deleted a few of mine. Why not these?
Some say that facebook is very quick in deleting pages that are in favor of Hitler.

The main reason of success for such pages is that they are viral. Controversy always attract peoples just like your website, you dedicate a complete post to this fb pages. I didn't like any of above listed page even though some are tempting lol.

The main reason of success for such pages is that they are viral. Controversy always attract peoples just like your website, you dedicate a complete post to this fb pages. I didn't like any of above listed page even though some are tempting lol.

Nancy is a writer and editor living in Washington DC. She was previously the Middle East editor at The Next Web and currently works at a DC-based think tank on communications and social media outreach.